Episode 47: Monstro, bro.

The Great American Beer Festival awarded 268 medals today to 234 breweries. In its 28th year, the competition saw a record number of judges (222) evaluate 5,507 commercial entires and 89 Pro-Am entries. Gold, silver and bronze medals were awarded in 90 categories covering 145 styles of beer.

The craft beer industry descended on Denver this past weekend for the 28th Annual Great American Beer Festival, the largest and most prestigious brew fest of the year…. But for those of us scoring at home, the beer names can be just as fun to track as the winners. With more than 3,000 beers available, the festival floor is a microcosm of the increasingly crowed craft market—a great ale will get people talking, but so will memorable branding and beer names (even, perhaps, if they are only memorable because they are so cringeworthy).

NoDa Brewing (Charlotte, NC) is releasing Monstro, a Pappy Van Winkle barrel aged imperial stout on November 1st. NoDa Monstro will be available at a special tap room release on November 1st. $18 a bottle. 1 case limit per person.

The suspense is over. After months of speculation, Stone Brewing Co. has formally announced its intent to build a new brewery in Richmond, Va. Pending local approvals, the country’s tenth largest craft brewer said it will build an east coast brewing facility in Richmond’s Greater Fulton Community.